Around Des Moines

(Des Moines, IA, May 5, 2008) Ask your elected officials if it is okay to use a cash advance check from one of your credit cards to pay the minimum amount due on another card. Then ask that same official if it is okay to use funds from one source of government to pay for a project by another level of government. Most likely the elected official would express concern about the former and praise for the latter. Yet, in the end, the source of all those government funds is the same: the taxpayer. In theory and in practice, I favor using taxes from one source to pay for essential needs in another part of a jurisdiction. For example, I have no problem with some of my federal tax dollars earned in Iowa going to pay for food stamps in Louisiana. However, I have major objections to one level of government telling me something is free because another level of government is paying for it.

Take the new D-Line shuttle that starts today in Des Moines as an example. This shuttle will run from the Des Moines Public School’s Central Campus at about 18th and Grand to the state Capitol at approximately East 13th and East Grand. The shuttle will run the loop in approximately 10-minute intervals, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. It will be free to riders. In contrast, riders of the regular DART buses that cover that same run and a few additional blocks on their regularly-scheduled hourly runs, from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and 7:00 to 6:00 on weekends, will see the fare for that zone go from $0.25 to $0.50 on June 1, 2008. DART and city officials sing the praise of this new simple-and-free shuttle. Alas, whether a regular DART route bus or a shiny new downtown shuttle, you and I are the ones paying the price and it is not free.

Similarly, I was not happy when the state legislature passed the $0.01 property tax/school construction bill this past session. If that sales tax were a permanent source of funding for operations of schools, I would have been a supporter. As it is, the construction tax bill has consequences not mentioned by its proponents. Yes, money from retail-rich parts of the state will help construct school-related buildings in less well-financed districts. However, if those districts do not vote in favor of the new school construction, they can use that money to lower property taxes that are already lower than those in many retail-oriented metropolitan areas. In other words, residents of Des Moines who shop within the city may soon be paying for property-tax reduction of corporate hog confinements across Iowa. Furthermore, another expense of the housing bubble was that governmental projects also cost more as construction workers and building materials went to residential construction, thereby raising prices for all projects. That means the General Assembly increased the cost of the Polk County courthouse reconstruction, should voters approve it at a later time. (Supporters of a new courthouse have been arguing since their defeat that the voters’ rejection of their plan increased the cost by millions of dollars due to the inevitable delay. One more thing on that school bill. Many of Des Moines’ big companies that supported Project Destiny have offices in those smaller communities whose property taxes may be reduced thanks to the state legislature.)

The April 2008 Polk County courthouse vote also suffered from the fact that it was about the prison system, something most people do not think about on a regular basis, unlike the sales taxes associated with Project Destiny. Why should county voters be taxed for something they don’t think they will use? I noticed that in the media discussions about the courthouse vote, the voices that were missing included jurors’ experiences, plus witnesses and victims who had to appear in court, a grieving survivor who had to struggle with probate, and even ex-offenders who were transported between the county jail and the courthouse. How would they improve the facilities? It is also possible that money being spent on new prisons in Iowa helped defeat the courthouse vote, at least subconsciously, but I don’t think that would have been a major factor in anybody’s decision.

The final part of this commentary is the tax levies themselves. I took a look at the levy maps and tables available on the county auditor’s website and was surprised at how much variation there is even within the city of Des Moines. A quick look at the table shows a range of rates from just over 25.13, including a sanitary sewer charge, in parts of Windsor Heights in the West Des Moines school district to over 49.92 in Des Moines in the SE Polk schools district.

M.R. Field was editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.  

There were several points of interest at the April 22nd meeting of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) Commission. First, the date of the meeting as listed on DART’s website is April 29th, not the 22nd. In addition, in keeping with tradition, the agenda of the meeting was not posted to the organization’s website prior to the meeting. Also as usual, of all the media, commissioners, staff, and members of the public in attendance, I was the only person riding the bus from the meeting. The number of media in attendance was much higher than I have seen in the past, though.

Some very important topics that included decisions with financial consequences were discussed. Recent accidents led to a discussion of an updated safety action plan. The approval at last month’s meeting of fare increases led to a discussion on the OTT monthly pass for low-income riders. Waukee’s city council’s action to reverse its decision to join DART led to a discussion on revising the authority’s funding formula. There was also an update on the downtown shuttle and regular departmental reports.

The high visibility accidents of recent months that injured pedestrians and damaged cars attracted the attention of much local media. Far more telling, in my opinion, was the discussion on OTT passes. As discussed in the report of the March 25th DART Commission meeting, OTT stands for Opportunities Through Transit and the program subsidizes monthly passes for ultra low-income riders. Applications are available at community centers in Des Moines and the passes are available to qualifying Polk County residents. Funding for OTT comes from the City of Des Moines, Polk County, and DART. In the March 25th report, I reported incorrectly the source of Polk County funds for OTT. In the county budget there is a line item for paratransit. However, the county recently used about $7,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money to help pay for DART drivers. Under current terms, the Polk County funds contribute $2.50 per OTT pass. The county’s contribution to the program has not increased for several years.

DART handles administration of the OTT program and covers the approximately $33,000 annual administrative cost. In addition, DART contributes over $90,000 to the program by direct subsidy of the monthly pass. The issue before the commission in April was to decide if the pass should rise to $21, as initially approved at the March 25th meeting, or if it should keep the charge at $17. Currently approximately 433 people use OTT passes and 25 people are on a waiting list. The commission was presented the options of raising the subsidized fare to $21 and not dropping any current pass holders or of retaining the $17 rate and reducing pass availability by over 100. Ultimately the Commission chose to keep the rate at $17, not to drop anybody, and somehow to find the extra $3,000 per month that will be required in subsidies when new DART fares take effect on June 1, 2008.

After the meeting I asked DART General Manager Brad Miller how he would have decided which 127 OTT pass holders would be dropped had that been the Commission’s choice. He did not have an answer. Although, during the meeting Miller said, “people come and go regularly on this.” That turnover occurs because an OTT pass recipient is dropped if he or she fails to buy a pass in three consecutive months. Des Moines City Manager Rick Clark, participating as an alternate for Des Moines City Councilor and DART Commissioner Christine Hensley, expressed concern about a long waiting list if such a list was not ranked by need.

Miller said that the City of West Des Moines uses $35,000 from its CDBG to buy annual passes for low-income residents. Thus, residents of that city who qualify and apply can ride DART for free. Applications are processed on a first come-first served basis.

DART Development Officer Brian Litchfield said that for every $1 increase in the OTT monthly pass, 30 people could be removed from the waiting list. However, given the low incomes of OTT recipients, commissioners and staff were extremely concerned about requiring recipients to pay any additional money.

Litchfield reported to the commission that the Davis Brown Law Firm and Mercy Medical Center have joined the Unlimited Access program. In addition, DART and the City of Des Moines are in talks to include the city in this program that allows free rides for people associated with participating companies or institutions. Commission Chairman Skip Conkling said that Mercy had been a proponent of Sunday service because many of its employees ride the bus to work.

Information on other components of the April 22nd DART Commission meeting will be reported on in Part 2.

M.R. Field writes about local issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Images of Shakespeare, Stevenson, and Shahrazda are some options for entertainment this weekend.

Drake University students transform Macbeth into a drama set in the near future. The play will be performed April 3rd through the 5th at 8:00 p.m. and on the 5th and 6th at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $4 to $6. Location is the Performing Arts Hall of the Harmon Fine Arts Center (25th and Carpenter). On Friday, April 4th, there will be a pre-theatre dinner and talk at Levitt Hall in Old Main (2507 University) at 6:00 p.m. Cost is $25, including the show, and reservations are required.

Roosevelt High School students will perform Treasure Island on Thursday and Friday, April 3rd and 4th, at 7:30 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. Tickets are $5.

Rainbows of the Desert’s 11th annual Dance Show will be presented on Saturday, April 5th at Indians Hills Junior High School (9401 Indian Hills Drive, Clive). Tickets are $10 and show time is 7:00 p.m. New York performer Dalia Carella will be featured.

Our Brand is Crisis will be shown at the State Historical Museum on Thursday and on Saturday. Cost is $5, or $4 with donation of a canned food product for the Food Bank of Iowa. The documentary follows political consultant James Carville and his partners as they work on the 2002 campaign of Gonzalo “Goni” Sànchez de Lozada, a candidate for president in Bolivia. If an indoor activity is needed on Sunday, the Grand Canyon Adventure is still playing on the IMAX at the Science Center. Plus, there is always live theater at the Des Moines Playhouse with Sarah, Plain and Tall.

The Iowa Cubs season opens on Thursday, April 3rd. There is a home game every day through the 10th. Times are 3:05 pm. on the 3rd; 7:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. All four games are against Round Rock. The best promotion is on Sunday when you get a general admission ticket if you take 3 nonperishable items for the DMARC Food Pantry. General admission is $7.

For those who prefer to hit a ball themselves, city golf courses are now open. If you are buying a Parks and Recreation pass or have business at the administrative offices, check out the department’s website. Some items are now bought at the City Hall information desk and the administrative offices have moved to the City. Armory.

April is a busy month for outdoor enthusiasts. Seasonal passes for the city’s pools are at a discount through April. Registration for Bike to Work Week (May 10th through the 16th) begins on April 4th. The 21st Mayor’s Ride for Trails is on April 19th and registration for that event is now open.

Classifying stars is the topic for the April 4th Drake Municipal Observatory series at 8:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Des Moines Astronomical Society will have an open night at the Ashton Observatory (Hwy. F-17, off of Hwy. 330, west of Baxter) at 8:00 p.m.

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

Fare increases to take effect on June 1, 2008, were approved by the commission of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority at its March 25th meeting. Only one change was made to the original fare proposal. Transfers will be good for 2 hours, up from the current 30 minutes, but only in one direction of travel. A request made at the March 18th hearing for discount passes to look like full-fare passes also was incorporated into the approved proposal. The vote to raise fares was unanimous with Commissioner Angela Connolly absent and Des Moines’ City Manager Rick Clark serving as an alternate for Commissioner Christine Hensley.

A major topic of concern and discussion was the increase of OTT passes from $17 to $21 per month. OTT stands for Opportunities Through Transit and is paid for through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and DART. Low income riders can apply for OTT funds through several community organizations. Each of those organizations has a waiting list. Commission Gaye Johnson asked for additional information on the number of people on waiting lists. According to DART General Manager Brad Miller, the City of Des Moines contributes $20,000 to OTT through federally-funded CDBG and Polk County provides $13,000 from its CDBG allocation. DART contributes $54,000. The amounts provided by the city and by the county cannot be increased before January 2010. Miller said not raising the OTT pass to $21 would cost DART $50,000. How to ease the burden of $4 extra for qualifying riders was discussed and ultimately tabled in favor of moving along the vote for the full fare proposal.

After the meeting I confirmed with Chief Development Officer Brian Litchfield, since Miller had left for another meeting, that the $50,000 would be from lost revenue. Consider this in context of a presentation Miller made that showed OTT accounted for 6.6% of riders. Additionally, consider that Litchfield had responded to an e-mail from AroundDesMoines.com for additional information with the figure of $150,000 as the amount of new revenue to be raised by the fare increase. This would mean that the lowest income riders, accounting for 6.6% of all riders, will be paying one-third of the new fare dollars. However, regular monthly pass riders account for 22.5% of rides, or more than 3 times the number of OTT riders, with a monthly rate increase is $7 per pass. That should account for more than two-thirds of the expected revenue increase. According to minutes from the DART Commission’s March 4th meeting, additional revenue to help offset rising diesel fuel prices will come from parking garage revenues in the city of Des Moines.

A new $24 paratransit fare for anyone anytime is one of the interesting additions to DART fares. There are also five paratransit zones with various fare rates for qualifying riders. Miller explained that the $24 fare is more than taxi fare so the service option is unlikely to be used. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering revamping reimbursement rates. Currently, DART is compensated at $16.44 per trip. To protect that revenue, DART needs to have the $24 published rate. As the meeting proceeded to other matters, several commissioners stressed that federal dollars for transportation are likely to be decreasing in the years ahead.

Apparently there is some disagreement within DART and on the DART Commission over the future direction of the transit authority. At the March 4th meeting, Commissioner Steve Van Oort asked for a comprehensive plan to cover the next 10 years. Van Oort is not convinced that the proposed transit mall, for which conceptual drawings and a $15 million tentative price tag were presented at the March 25th meeting, is in the best long-term interest of DART. Commission Chair Skip Conkling countered that the transit mall was necessary for all other development to happen, including a tram from the Capitol to downtown for which Allied/Nationwide has agreed to fund a feasibility study.

Trolleys for the new city- and state-funded shuttle from Meredith Corporation offices to the Capitol are expected to be delivered the first two weeks of April. According to the March 4th meeting minutes the new shuttle will be called the D-Line, a name selected by “a steering committee, consisting of DART and other downtown functionaries….” (For the record, I recommended the name Boondoggle. I can think of several choice D words, too.)

A presentation was also made at the March 25th meeting on responses to challenges posed by this past winter’s weather. DART staff recommended buying another sander and a bobcat. Currently there is only one sander, which was out of commission during part of the season due to damage, and no bobcat. On 74% of the days from December through February there was either snow or freezing rain.

M.R. Field hopes to cover future DART Commission meetings for AroundDesMoines.com. 

(Des Moines, IA, March 18, 2008) People attending a public hearing for a proposed transit fare increase were very clear. Support for a fare increase cannot be separated from the service provided or from who is paying the fare.

Fewer than 20 people attended the noontime hearing held at the Central Library. About half of those people were staff of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority or DART commissioners. DART General Manager said that about 32 people had already submitted comments on the proposed fare increase. Half of those comments were in support, half were in opposition. However, most of the complaints were targeted to specific parts of the proposal.

Miller delivered a slide presentation that had previously been given to the DART commission. He clarified several components of the proposed fare increase included in the letter and attachment sent to riders via e-mail and distributed on buses. One proposed change is that the reduced fare for seniors be offered to be people 65 years or older. Currently, people age 60 can pay the reduced fare. Seniors between age 60 and 65 who currently pay the reduced fare would be grandfathered in and not be required to pay full fare. Federal law requires senior citizens be allowed to ride during off-peak hours at half price. The new fare proposal would allow seniors also to ride at half price during peak hours (i.e., morning and afternoon commute times).

The discount fare for youth age 6 to 10 years would stay at $0.75 while the fare for seniors and disabled riders would increase from $0.50 to $0.75. This would make all discount fares the same. Similarly, the monthly express plus pass would stay at $50.00 but those areas paying less would see an increase to the $50.00 level.

DART staff would like to see more riders use the weekly pass instead of tokens. According to Miller, tokens from pizza parlors are getting dropped into fare boxes. Approximately 4.1% of riders use tokens and 4.4% use weekly passes. Monthly passes are used by 22.5% of riders and 21.9% of rides are given under the Unlimited Access program.

How good a deal is the $50 pass? Consider some calculations for a rider working full-time. For ease of comparison, the monthly commute will be considered to be 2 rides per day, 5 days per week, 4 weeks per month. This equals 40 rides per month. Single fare cost would be $60. Weekly pass fare cost would be $56. Monthly pass fare cost would be $42. On call service would be $120. Combine the monthly pass with the on call transfer cost and it would be $110 per month to take the bus to work. With an all-encompassing express plus pass, that cost would be only $50.

Nobody questioned the reason given for the proposed fare increase, i.e., increasing fuel costs. I sent an e-mail to DART Chief Development Officer Brian Litchfield for usuage details. He said the proposed fare increase would bring in an expected $150,000 annually. In contrast, DART uses about 785,000 gallons of diesel each year. With a current price of between $3.16 and $3.40 per gallon, DART has seen its fuel costs rise by $800,000 per year.

Even though the proposed fare increase is related to rising fuel costs, comments from people attending the fare hearing made it clear there are other concerns. These include the perception that an empty bus equals a poorly-designed route, the time wasted when a route zigs zags in different directions, and the assumption of who rides the bus. One attendee who works for a large downtown company and has her ride paid for under the Unlimited Access program said, “I’m concerned about the poor schmucks” who have to pay $7 more for a monthly pass.

In response to a question I asked about future fare increases or excess revenues should fuel costs stabilize, Miller said that there would not be another fare increase before July 2009. He also acknowledged that future service expansion could be limited by the rising fuel costs.

M.R. Field covers local news for AroundDesMoines.com.

(Des Moines, IA, March 18, 2008) At the March school board meeting for the Des Moines Public Schools, the superintendent’s report included recognition of a team of high school students who won an award for devising a mathematical formula to address the real-world problem of determining the cost benefit of renting a car versus driving one’s own car when going on a trip. Too bad the problem was not more civic-oriented, such as creating a formula for determining which riders should pay which portion of a public transit’s operating expenses. I continue to believe that the Des Moines Area Transit Authority (DART) determines its fare system based on the source of funding rather than the consideration of the ridership. The current fare proposal is just one more example of this.

When the downtown/Capitol shuttle begins, there will be no charge to ride between Meredith’s offices at approximately 16th and Locust to the state Capitol at approximately 13th and East Grand. The north/south route of the shuttle will be limited to the area near the west side of the Des Moines River. In contrast, the downtown zone for route buses will have a fare increase from $0.25 5o $0.50. This bothers me in a couple ways. First, with health care we are told repeatedly that patients must pay a portion of the cost to appreciate the value of the service. I find this is true with public transit, as well. The second concern is that as a city and a state taxpayer, I am subsidizing those free rides while also paying increased fares for downtown zones on weekends and in the evenings. Does DART have agreements with the primary funding entities for the shuttle that DART cannot assign a fare cost to riders to help with other DART services?

Below is a comparison of fares for Ames’ CyRide, San Francisco’s MUNI, and the proposed increase for Des Moines’ DART. I also have included the size of the service area for comparison.

The chart below shows data for 2006, including how much each funding source contributes to operating and to capital revenues (source: National Transit Database). The funding sources will indicate the primary purpose of the transit authority. In Ames, the dominance of local funding suggests the priority is to provide transportation for university students. In Des Moines, the federal funding is to target air pollution and possibly to avoid building extra road lanes to handle rush-hour traffic; the local funding forces riders to go downtown to transfer. In San Francisco, the primary source for operating funds means that riders’ needs will be heard with great respect.

I disapprove of the disproportionate price of a single fare. With an economy that places many residents in part-time and sporadic jobs, it is not cost-effective to buy a monthly pass. How much more should these occasional workers be forced to pay compared to a person who is working full time?

Also, why, when fuel prices are the reason given for the fare increases, are express buses from the outlying suburbs not having their rates increased? Certainly the stop and go traffic of urban routes increases gasoline consumption. However, the sprawl encouraged in an era of inexpensive gasoline is why public transit resources are being spent on daily commuter buses today. It is only fair to increase the monthly pass fares for these riders, too.

I think that before we raise fares, we should require the DART commissioners to take the bus to their monthly commission meetings and to give up their cars for one week in favor of taking the bus.

M.R. Field writes on transit issues. 

If you have an opinion about fares charged for using any of the transit services offered by the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) now is the time to share them. The DART Commission may vote on fare increases proposed by DART staff as soon as Tuesday, March 25, 2008. A public hearing will be held immediately prior to the March 25th meeting (5:00 p.m. at DART’s offices) and on Tuesday, March 18th (12:00 Noon at the Central Library). Services include regularly-scheduled daily bus routes, paratransit services, on-call and van pool services, weekday express routes, and numerous weekly or semi-weekly trips from outlying suburban communities.

In a letter to customers from General Manager Brad Miller, rising fuel costs are cited as the reason for requested fare increases. If the commission accepts the fare changes at its March meeting, the new fares could take effect on June 1, 2008. The letter was distributed on buses, sent via e-mail to customers requesting such communication, and posted on the DART website. Fares were last raised in January 2007, with rising fuel costs given as the reason then, as well.

In other news, this time from the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO), DART wants to amend the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to include a $32,000 Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program project in the current fiscal year to promote and to market the Unlimited Access Program. There will be a public hearing on this request on Tuesday, April 1st at 7:00 p.m. at the DMAMPO offices. I spoke with Brian Litchfield, DART’s chief development officer, via telephone about the Unlimited Access Program and other DART-related items.

The Unlimited Access Program offers unlimited rides to people affiliated with various organizations and businesses in exchange for a flat payment by the companies and groups. Drake University, which is easily accessible by the #3 and #5 bus lines, is the only university currently participating. A three-day survey in Fall 2007 indicated approximately six university-based riders a day. Litchfield said that in the first two months of Drake’s participation in the program, university-related ridership vastly exceeded expectations. All of the Unlimited Access contracts are for five years with clauses for annual cost adjustments.

Whether a particular transit service is funded by a grant or by riders factors into which fares are recommended to be raised. For instance, the downtown zone fare would rise to $0.50 but a free shuttle between Meredith and the Capitol would run approximately every 10 minutes from at least 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There would also be a north/south route that would replace LINK park-and-ride service and would also be free. (The Indiana-based manufacturer of the trolley cars for the shuttle did not deliver the four diesel-powered vehicles on time. They are now expected to be delivered the first week of April. Start of the free shuttle service is thus expected to be between late April and June.) West Des Moines zone fares would rise to $0.75.

The $0.10 charge for transfers would be eliminated but so would the discount for buying single-trip tokens. For fares that will rise, the proposed increases range from 20% to 50%.

For people who commute to work via private automobile, the DMAMPO is reviewing the 2007 Travel Time Survey and the 2007 Vehicle Occupancy Survey. An interesting item in the In Touch newsletter from the DMAMPO is that rush-hour travel time on non-interstate roads is below the posted speed limit. However, on the interstate performance is sometimes higher than the posted speed limit. In other words, people are speeding to shorten their commute times.

M.R. Field writes about transit issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Why do you use your car or take the bus? What would you do if you did not have a car or if there were no bus? These are questions being asked at four Transportation Open Houses hosted by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO). The first meeting was held in Des Moines on February 25, 2008, during another winter snowfall, when about twenty people gathered at the United Way of Central Iowa building on Ninth Street to talk with Dylan Mullenix of the DMAMPO.

Speaking with Mullenix by phone for this article, I asked him why people should care about these meetings. He said that the state and federal funding for the Des Moines Area Transit Authority (DART) must go through the DMAMPO’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The TIP is a four-year plan that is updated annually. It covers roads, bridges, and transit. However, for a DART item to be included in TIP, it must now also be included in the Passenger Transportation Development Plan (PTDP). It is this PTDP that is being discussed at the meetings that are being held in Des Moines, Indianola, and Boone.

In addition to being a prerequisite for government-funded transit services, the PTDP is intended to increase coordination of all passenger transportation services, including inter-city buses, taxis, paratransit, and regularly-scheduled local bus routes. The area covered in the plan includes Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Marion, Madison, Polk, Story, and Warren Counties, excluding the Ames metropolitan area. These counties include the planning region for the DMAMPO and for the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA).

Another acronym important to this report is the Transportation Advisory Group (TAG). TAG is a subcommittee of the DMAMPO’s Transit Roundtable. The roundtable is composed of representatives from local and state governments, transit organizations, human services groups, and other interested persons. TAG assisted in developing the federally-required plan.

In the region there are approximately 80 organizations offering transportation services, many of them merely providing funding. for physically- or financially-challenged clientele. A survey the TAG conducted revealed that 75% of organizations offering transportation do not do so as their primary service. In addition, if other transportation resources were available, 70% of the organizations providing transportation would stop their passenger services. (Last year I was in a meeting where a service provider said it costs $25 plus travel expenses every time her agency uses its passenger van.) Funding can come through state or federal departments such as the Departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

This is the second year for the PTDP. Like the TIP, it is a four-year plan updated annually. The PTDP is a result of two actions. In 2004, the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility was created by executive order and in 2005 legislation was signed with the similar intent of encouraging coordination of transportation services. Although the federal actions were taken with the intention of making better use of limited resources for helping the disabled and the poor, the result is that any service any individual wants provided by public transportation needs to be included in the PTDP.

Highlights of the PTDP for Fiscal Years 2009-2012 include retaining the current level of service through funding for vehicles, facilities, and equipment; increasing marketing and public relations efforts to educate people about transit options; increasing access to jobs; and, increasing access to medical services. Goals for greater job access include adding a service to the Tyson Foods facility in Perry, adding a service from Boone to Jefferson, and increasing the reverse commute from Indianola to Des Moines to five days a week from the current semi-weekly schedule. The recommendation for medical care access is to have a bus run a few times a week from Ames through Des Moines to Iowa City. A mobility manager was also identified as a resource to create. The mobility manager would be a phone-based and/or web-based resource, that could provide information on all transportation options, including by disability or other selective factor, that might provide greater options than those offered to the general public. A phone-based system might be made available through the 211 resource number.

As is common with such meetings, only a few people traveled to the event by bus. One woman asked how there could be better involvement early in the planning process rather than just presenting plans to people near the end of the process. Some people suggested presenting information about the transit options on local cable access; however, in the TAG survey some respondents noted that many of their clients cannot even afford a $35 monthly bus pass. One woman suggested providing information via Hispanic-language radio stations and TAG survey responses suggested having information in languages for refugees. Including projects in the PTDP does not guarantee funding for them.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

Take a look at the views of Des Moines from the Ingersoll streetscape to the Principal Riverwalk and to the east side. Look at proposals from theRoosevelt streetscape to the suburban-style Hy-Vee in Beaverdale, from the Drake Neighborhood streetscape to the suburban-style Dahl’s on Ingersoll, and from the vision for Downtown Des Moines to the discussion of transit-oriented development (TOD) in the Highway 5/North River corridor south of County Line Road. What do they have in common? The public comment system is structured to have input primarily from those people living within a targeted development zone or near an expanded business.

Cities and counties have comprehensive plans that are supposed to guide the types of development desired in a geopolitical area. This includes transportation methods, industry types, and even styles of construction. These planning guides are written to allow flexibility and can be overridden by the political body that voted for them. In some communities, there are fights over every single change. In other communities, there can be a total razing and rebuilding with complaints being no more troublesome than gnats.

What concerns me about recent development discussions in and around the city is that they are taking place in isolation from each other and with little public discussion about the larger issues. I have heard many comments from residents about the desires of Hy-Vee and Dahl’s to recreate suburban designs within the city. People have commented that it would be nice to have a salad bar at the Dahl’s on Ingersoll, but same people wonder if the street really needs another coffee shop. A few people, from whom I have heard indirectly, have said gas pumps at the Dahl’s would eliminate the need to go to 42nd and University for gasoline. Considering it takes fewer than five minutes to drive that distance needs to be measured against the disruption to a pedestrian district and to the environment by placing gas pumps where none now exist. Businesses should be allowed to rework their buildings and services, but in suburbia there are different needs than in the city.

Dahl’s at Ingersoll does so much business because it is easily accessible to a neighborhood without need for private vehicles. It is also only one of two grocery stores in Des Moines that I have found to be easily accessible by public transportation. In addition, there are no major roads that make accessing the store difficult on foot. Other residents of the city might appreciate a suburban-style store that they could access easily, but I do not. When the grocery store is the only place around, then it is convenient to have it offer a self-contained mall. Dahl’s, however, is close to other stores and restaurants that offer the same amenities as a suburban store, with a whole heck of a lot more character.

The Hy-Vee store shares some of these issues with the Dahl’s. Alas, the opponents of Dahl’s who want an urban store and the opponents of Hy-Vee who want an urban store are not joining forces to shape the future of Des Moines.

On December 19, 2007, there was an open house held at Blank Park Zoo to present ideas for the Highway 5 corridor to the south of Des Moines. Residents on Des Moines’ east side should have been there. There are issues of flood plains, new housing, and transit-oriented development, e.g., jobs and entertainment accessible by public transportation. All of these are important issues for the city’s east side right now, not in 50 years. They are issues that need to be discussed on a citywide scale.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 

1. Improve voter turnout for school board elections. The regular reports I write on the Des Moines Public Schools School Board meetings demonstrate the range of topics school boards handle; they are not just for parents with children in the schools. In addition, the regular reports provide a year-long record of information on current school board members to help assess their qualifications should those with terms ending in 2008 choose to seek re-election. This is far more information than I have had when voting in the past.

2. Improve voter turnout for city council elections. The turnout across Iowa for elections in 2007 was dreadfully low. A pass I made through a farmers market revealed little knowledge of candidates and even less thought about issues that should be considered for city council elections. While some municipalities may hold elections in 2008, the next election for Des Moines officials will be in 2009.

3. Improve voter awareness about candidates for county supervisor. There will likely be a special election held in Polk County seeking money for a new court house. Other than that, more work needs to be done to inform the public about the county board of supervisors and their actions before candidates have to file for the election.

4. Improve tenants rights. Want young people in Des Moines? Want to protect older people? Want the middle-aged to stay here? Then start treating tenants with more respect. Residential renters need recycling rights. Property owners need to be held to terms of leases and to liveable housing, just as they hold tenants to leases and expect certain behavior.

5. Improve public transit. Jobs go wanting because workers cannot get to them. Workers want jobs, but can’t get to them. There are many people with good skills and abilities but who must share a car or do not have a reliable vehicle. Buses are not just for the ultra-poor and the retired elderly.

6. Strengthen women’s networking for empowerment of women. Many women’s groups exist for networking but few reach out beyond their own members or their own interests or funding streams. The need for women to support women extends beyond those women who are poor, uneducated, and probably pregnant.

7. Work to reduced sprawl. Sprawl increases the price of farmland and makes it harder for new farmers to start up their operations. It also increases air pollution and demands more use of gasoline. It puts peoples in vehicles instead of in public meetings, at restaurants, or talking with their neighbors.

8. Increase the number of people writing letters to editors or suggesting news blog stories.

9. Reduce swearing. This is a personal matter but I have discovered myself swearing way too much as demands upon me increase with resources decreasing. Of course, as I write this on the afternoon of New Year’s Day I find I have already messed up this resolution.

10. Win Powerball jackpot and enter presidential contest late in the year as the victorious fourth party candidate.

M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.